The Traitors finalist inspires thousands to donate to Mencap
Melanie May | 29 January 2025 | News
So far fans of The Traitors have donated £46,000 to Mencap since the final, after finalist Alexander Dragonetti shared his experience of having a brother with a learning disability.
Dragonetti talked about his late brother who had Global Developmental Delay during the finalists’ dinner, which aired on Friday 24 January. He has also shared that his brother went on a Mencap holiday every year and that he himself was a carer for Mencap for five years. If he had won, he had pledged to give some of the money to the charity.
By the following Monday (27 January) more than 2,000 people had donated to Mencap, raising around £30,000. By the evening of 28 January, this had risen to over 3,000 people and more than £46k, with people still giving.
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Fans have also taken to social media to encourage others to donate and have shared their reasons for supporting Mencap.
The contributions will go directly towards tackling the daily inequalities faced by people with a learning disability.
Speaking when donations reached £30k, Jon Sparkes, Mencap Chief Executive, commented:
“We are really grateful to Alexander for courageously sharing his personal story about his late brother who had a learning disability on The Traitors. Despite not winning on Friday night Alexander remained faithful to the end and captured the hearts of the nation – he is our champion!
“Telling his story has inspired a tremendous wave of generosity from the public. Their overwhelming support for Mencap has been incredible, with generous donations around £30,000. These donations are needed more now than ever as people with a learning disability continue to face extensive inequalities every day.
“We know that when the experiences of people with a learning disability, and their loved ones, are represented in the media, it helps to change attitudes and make our society more inclusive. We loved watching Alexander’s journey throughout the show and want to thank him for all that he’s done.”
Mencap has shared comments from donors including:
“I have always had family friends with learning disabilities but it was Alexander from the traitors that inspired me to donate.”
“I support children with learning disabilities and was inspired by Alexander from the traitors to donate”
“I’m the parent of a child with learning disabilities who will need care in the future and I worry about his future when I’m gone every day. I also was moved by Alexander’s story on the traitors and wanted to donate to his cause even though he hadn’t won.”
“I am a SEN [Special Educational Needs] teacher so the work that Mencap do is invaluable to the children I work with. In addition to this Alexander from the Traitors raising awareness to this charity in particular inspired me to donate.”
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.